UpRooted Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in McHenry

We were meeting another couple here the other night. Neither us nor them had been here before. If it wasn't for the poorly lit sign out front, we would have never realized we were at the right place. It's a nondescript cement block of a building with a huge outdoor deck in front. The parking lot was jam packed, too.

We sat in the dining room and were immediately greeted by our server who was bubbly and extremely friendly. Btw, the place was packed.

She asked four our drinks and she recommended the Cinnamon Whiskey Moscow Mule. It's my new favorite drink - sooooo good.

We started with buffalo cauliflower (not my cup of tea, but then again, I'm not a vegetable guy) and the Goat in the Garden appetizers. Our friends and my wife really liked the Buffalo Cauliflower (so for those who like that kind of thing, they really thought it was good). The Goat in the Garden (goat cheese, marinara, and toasted Crostinis) were really flavorful as well.

We ordered and with our meals, we get salads. The salads we get are table-side made salads. The server brought a salad bar to our table and made the salads based on our lettuce selections and toppings and dressing selections. How cool , right?

My wife got soup and salad and said both were delicious. Her salad was not made table-side, and while it was a good salad (the Uprooted Seasonal Salad), she wished she could have ordered the one made table-side. She also got the soup du jour which was a French Onion, which she said was really good.

I got the special, a New York Strip with a horseradish crust, red potatoes and seasonal vegetables. The steak was cooked to perfection and had great flavor. The crust was not overpowering (which many horseradish crusts are), and the potatoes were crispy and soft. Who cares about the veggies, I don't. However, my wife did say they were good.

The other couple got the cheeseburger and Pork Chop (with additional apple blue cheese sauce). The burger was huge and juicy. I had to add Uprooted to my list of burger places to try with my Burger Club, even though it is not specifically a burger place. The pork chop was huge. He said the apple blue cheese sauce was okay and you could take it or leave it, but the chop itself was very good.

Finally finished with dinner, we thought we'd get dessert. They first brought a dessert drink bar table-side. The server/bartender lifted every type of dessert drink, told us the country of origin, the flavor profile, annd what it might pair with. While none of us got a dessert drink, it was fabulous listening and watching this server in his element discussing all the drinks.

We asked to see what they had to eat for dessert and our server brought a tray of 8 different dessert "shooters" to the table and told us what each one was. We asked for several and she just handed them to us. This is such a fabulous idea! Make the dessert shooters, bring them table-side and hand them right over. We got 5 of the 8 and all were great! I would have ordered all 8 if my wife wouldn't call me a piggy.

Anyway...while the building is totally opposite to what is inside; what's inside is a terrific meal, served by knowledgeable servers and bartenders, and artfully prepared by excellent chefs. I'd give this place more stars if I could. We will be making repeat appearances in the...

Location / Atmosphere - A very good option if you’re looking for an excellent dining experience with excellent food. Very clean and well managed. Not sure that the ‘flat screen TV’s’ fit the ambiance that you’re striving for. Very interesting menu built around root vegetables. Found this to be an excellent dining option in McHenry IL. and didn’t expect it when we pulled in.

Food / Beverage - Very creative menu where everything sounds excellent. Hats off to the chef and kitchen staff. Almost had too many options as I quickly forgot some of the specials that our server mentioned. The beverage menu was also creative as I didn’t expect some of the options presented to us. We started our meal with the drink of the day (Makers Mark Old Fashion) and the Brie bites. Both were very good and had excellent presentations. I then had the Butternut squash soup which tasted ‘home-made’ and very good. My only suggestion would be to serve it with a garnish on top, perhaps roasted nuts. The side bag of oyster crackers didn’t help the presentation and I don’t think the type of experience that you’re going for. My wife had a ‘make at the table’ salad which was presented very well and an excellent idea. I typically always look at the specials menu as I love the creativity. This by no means was a disappointment at UpRooted. There were many items that I would have loved to try but choose the 'Chilean Sea Bass' which was cooked to perfection with complementary sides. My wife had the 'Filet' which was also cooked to perfection and served with a plethora of sides. For dessert, we had two of the ‘personal sized’ home-made deserts of the day. Very nice touch and a perfect size.

Service - Very pleasant and attentive service. Our server did a great job and the wait for our drinks as well as food was quite short. It would be good if your wait staff mentioned the prices of some of the specialty items throughout their presentation as this was a bit of a surprise when the bill came. The waitstaff and managers did check in on us throughout the evening. It's always nice to be served by people who don't mind being at work and have a positive attitude.

In summary - A very nice restaurant. We do plan to return and look forward to seeing your dining...

Food and service were both excellent. I regret to say that the reason behind my negative review is that we were overcharged, and I haven't received my money back. I called in the afternoon to notify them of the overcharge and was told it would be taken care of. The next day, after still not receiving a call back or the charges being reversed, I decided to stop by the restaurant to show them my receipt and mobile banking statement proving I was charged twice. The employees there said that only 2 people that work there are able to reverse charges and neither of them were there at that time. The guy there already had my info written down from my previous call, and they said their supervisor was there earlier but had left. So if the person who can fix this, one of only 2 people who can fix this, was already there, why wasn't it taken care of? Why didn't I get a call back? When I went there in person, I suggested just giving me a cash refund then and call it a day. I was told that wasn't possible. Of course it is. I work in customer service, and if you overcharge someone, you fix it right away. I've already wasted my time calling, stopping in, and I'm still waiting for my money back. I'm not saying don't eat there, but if you do, maybe just bring cash, so you won't get ripped off. UPDATED: So I finally got a call back from one of the owners. He said he checked with the card processing company and they told him that I was only charged once. Well, guess what? It's still on my bank statement, so now I have to file a claim with them to have the charges reversed. After informing the owner Dan that that's what I'll be doing, he asked if I could call him back to let him know that the bank took care of it. I've already spent more time dealing with this charge than I spent at this establishment, so no, I won't be calling back with an update on your mistake. I originally said that I'm not suggesting to not eat there, but now I'm telling anyone who will listen to not eat there. I ate there with a gift card I received for Christmas. Worst Christmas...